


a reign like stars (and heart as bright)

by poetry_and_stone (thunderstorm_skald)



Series: poetry [4]
Category: Christian Bible, Christian Bible (Old Testament), Greek and Roman Mythology, Hellenistic Religion & Lore, Original Work
Genre: Death, Femininity, Feminist Themes, Gen, God - Freeform, Humanity, Mythology - Freeform, Poetry, Prose Poem, Religion, Religious Conflict, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, god is a woman, life - Freeform, womanhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 19:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18169244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderstorm_skald/pseuds/poetry_and_stone
Summary: But these are the lies men tell their wives and fathers tell their daughters for fear of retribution and strength





	a reign like stars (and heart as bright)

I.  
In the beginning, there was AllNothing, and They created not because They were good, but because They so wished  
And from AllNothing came NonBeing and then Existence, and with Their children, AllNothing created worlds and galaxies  
And with Creation came names, and so AllNothing became Void, and NonBeing became Death, and Existence became Life and Creation became Universe  
And as Universe expanded, there came Binary, and Void was named a distant woman, and Life a kind woman, and Death a hateful man  
And in time, one being rose and called himself Yahweh, and began to rule as GodAlone, Lord of All, above all  
And Void and Their children knew better, and although one of them was feared, and one of them was worshipped, and one of them was hated, They were all Three needed for Balance  
For Mother Void loves all Their children  
_the space between the stars calls themself kaia_

II.  
There is a spot, they tell her, in heaven for you, and you have the chance to claim it, they say, should you ever obey your father  
And she smiles, tells them, no, my friends, but I will take my rightful spot in hell, she says, next to my lover  
Because she took after her namesake in a way her forebears feared and hated, and death ran to her with the same mad glint in his eye as flashes in hers, and he gave her half his kingdom  
Little girls lie to their mothers, and goddesses even more so  
You cannot believe, she says, that I ate the seeds unwillingly  
They flinch as they see the crown woven from flowers and bones, the dress of grasses and souls  
My friends, she tells them, there is no place in heaven for me, but there is in hell  
A laugh bubbles from a mouth supple and red as a pomegranate  
_it is called the throne_

III.  
The lord of the seas is hunting the ocean’s daughter, they say. The beautiful one  
The wise one found her, they say, and now she is as ugly as her sisters  
But these are the lies men tell their wives and fathers tell their daughters for fear of retribution and strength  
The lord of the seas is hunting her and chasing her like a demon does a lamb and she hides where he cannot go, but still he comes  
The lord of the seas pins her in the wise one’s holy house and takes what must be given freely and she fights and she screams and the wise one comes  
And the wise one is angry at the lord of the seas for what he has done to the ocean’s daughter, and so she does what a wise one can  
The ocean’s daughter is given a defense, is given a curse  
The ocean’s daughter turns to stone all men who look upon her, they say. She is hideous  
But these are the lies men tell their wives and fathers tell their daughters for fear of retribution and strength  
They never say she is the matron of safe houses  
They never say she is the protector of the taken  
They never say she turns them to stave off the takers  
For they cannot see past the face that turns to stone  
_the hissing of her hair almost sounds like laughter_

IV.  
You dream of what it feels like to be holy, beautiful and worshipped in a land older than humanity and your heart always beating  
You dream of what it feels like to have ichor in your veins, skin flushed gold and your heart always beating  
You dream of what it feels like to be fluid, changing form as quick and easy as a breath of air and your heart always beating  
You dream of what it feels like to be dying, your blood on the stone and your soul on the blade and your heart still beating  
You dream and you dream and you dream and you wake up  
You are awake and in last night’s makeup and beside last night’s man and last night’s dress on the floor and you cannot tell if your heart is beating  
You are awake and you understand how Icarus felt when he flew to the sun and he fell and he fell and he fell and he could not tell if his heart was beating  
You are awake and you think you might have been a queen once, gaze piercing and word law and your heart always beating  
But you are awake and you are human, now, and the lipstick you reach for before your clothes is as red as your heart beats, as your heart bleeds  
_you are a woman, and this makes you a queen, makes you a goddess, and your heart is beating_

 

— a reign like stars (and heart as bright)  
Nov. 2016-Feb. 2017


End file.
